California Professional License Defense Blog

Dr. Mohammed Taek Kady, 55 from Chula Vista was arrested for operating a “complex, multi-level scheme” that bilked insurance companies by overcharging patients over $200,000 for examinations and prescription pain medication who did not need it.

Starting in 2007, Kady along with two employees were charged with California Penal Code Sections 182(a)(1), 182(a)(4), 487(a) and 550(b)(3) for their part in conspiring to commit medical insurance fraud.

In addition to the above mentioned charges, Kady was also charged with:
One count of Violation of California Welfare and Institutions Code section 14107(b)(4)(A)-Medi-Cal fraud.
Five counts of California Penal Code Section 487(a)- Grand Theft.
Seven counts of California Health and Safety Code section 11153(a)- Illegal Prescribing.
One count of Labor Code 3700.5(a)- Failing to provide worker’s compensation insurance.

Kady came to the authorities attention when a pharmacist at a San Diego pharmacy became suspicious when dozens of people tried to fill their prescriptions at the pharmacy. It turns out, that Kady and the pharmacy owner had an arrangement where Kady would send his patients to the particular pharmacy in exchange for a $3 per prescription kick back. Kady, who has been license since 1997 maintained clinics in Chula Vista and San Diego. If convicted, Kady faces up to 20 years in prison.

Dr. Nathan Kuemmerle, of Hollywood, was arrested by Redondo Beach Police and special agents with DEA. Kuemmerle runs a clinic in West Hollywood where he is alleged to have been distributing controlled substances by writing thousands of prescriptions for highly addictive patients.

Both men were charged on April 9, 2010 in United States District Court of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and actual distribution of controlled substances. Both face up to 20 years in prison.

An investigation began after Redondo Beach Police arrested a man selling Adderall on Craigslist. The man told officers Dr. Kuemmerle was the individual who he obtained prescriptions from, sometimes without an examination and sometimes under an alias. This information was corroborated by other informants which led to an undercover officer posing as a patient and receiving his own prescriptions in exchange for cash.

A Duarte physician was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for dispensing massive amounts of powerful and addictive painkillers including oxycodone and hydrocodone without examining patients. Dr. Daniel J. Healy received cash for the pills he was dispensing out of his office.

Healy, of Arcadia was arrested in 2009. Judge Manuel Real sentenced Dr. Healy to 500 hours of community service and 10 years of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.

According to reports, from January 2005 to February 2009, Dr. Healy ordered and dispensed large amounts of painkillers to patients he did not examine. No physician in the nation purchased more hydrocodone pills than Healy. Prosecutors also say Healy profited off the purchase and sale of hydrocodone to the tune of $680,000 in 2008 alone.

On July 6, 2009, Dr. Healy plead guilty to 1 count of knowingly and intentionally distributing the painkiller oxycodone outside the usual course of professional practices and without legitimate medical purpose.

After receiving a report from the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, Jr. said Corey Haim visited seven doctors and seven pharmacies to obtain 553 doses of prescription drugs.

The report states that from Feb 2, 2010 to March 5, 2010, Haim obtained 195 Valium pills, 194 Soma pills, 149 Vicodin pills and 15 Xanax. Brown, who has been at the forefront of cracking down on prescription-drug abuse continues to go after physicians and drug dealers who profit from overprescribing narcotics.

Haim’s name was attached to a prescription-drug ring out of Southern California. The ring allegedly orders prescription-drug scripts from vendors using identities stolen from doctors. The scripts are then sold on the street to addicts.

California physicians should be aware of identity theft when it comes to their DEA license. The San Diego Regional Pharmaceutical Narcotic Enforcement Team (RxNET) is conducting an investigation into unauthorized possession of prescription-drug scripts ordered from authorized vendors by individuals posing as California licensed physicians.

RxNET along with the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, Department of Health Care Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other local law enforcement agencies are assisting in the investigation.

The investigation has so far linked 5,000 fraudulent prescriptions to the prescription-drug fraud ring. The ring starts with ordering prescription-drug scripts from legitimate vendors using the stolen identities of practicing physicians. They then either sell the scripts on the street to addicts or to people who are paid to fill the prescription then sell them on the street.

Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has filed more than 200 cases against physicians and patients. Brown credits the upgrades made to CURES, the state’s prescription-drug monitoring database in tracking down criminal offenders.

In addition to the potential criminal filings, physicians are also subject to the loss of their DEA license as well as the loss of their license by the California Medical Board.

Dr. Glen R. Justice, a prominent Orange County physician has agreed to plead guilty to defrauding insurance companies for injectable cancer medication that he never provided. Prosecutors said, Justice, the former director of the cancer center at Orange Coast Medical Center and the Pacific Coast Hematology/Oncology Medical Group received up to $1 million for the false claims.

Dr. Justice, of Corona del Mar has agreed to plead guilty to 5 counts of heath care fraud which caries a maximum 50 years in prison, $1.25 million fine and 3 years probation. According to the agreement, federal prosecutors will recommend a probationary sentence in lieu of prison. Justice is scheduled to be arraigned May 3, 2010.

Dr. Justice also faces discipline from the California Medical Board, however, an accusation has yet to be filed.